The band plays on at West Norfolk Academies Trust
The band plays on at West Norfolk Academies Trust
The coronavirus pandemic may have impacted many aspects of life this year for school-age children and their families, but it has certainly not silenced the young musicians of schools within the West Norfolk Academies Trust, where participation numbers just keep on growing.
The Trust manages 11 primary and secondary schools across the region, actively encouraging collaborations between them, and it is in the field of music that it has enjoyed some of its biggest success, with 62 pupils across the schools now playing orchestral instruments.
Rob Galliard, the Trust's director of primary music said:
"I never dreamed the numbers would be so high.
"I expected that of the original cohort, around 20, would still be playing, as I thought there would be a big drop-off during school closures, so it's wonderful to see so much sustained interest."
All primary school children are given a chance to explore instruments and then teachers identify those with most potential and encourage them further.
Galliard added:
"Children automatically gravitate towards things like flutes, trumpets and saxophones but we've managed to get some of them to take up less played but equally valuable instruments like bassoons, tubas and oboes,"
Music and the promotion of the arts plays a major role in education across all the Trust's schools.
Andy Johnson, the Trust's executive head teacher, said:
"The arts are a fundamental part of our educational philosophy, and long-term, the vision is that we have high quality extra-curricular music taught in every one of our schools.
"Children who are involved in extra-curricular activities are happier, and the skill and discipline of learning an instrument helps them academically."
Galliard spent many years as head of music at Springwood High in King's Lynn, one of the Trust's secondary schools, and said it had played a big role in the reputation the school had earned.
He said:
"Public performances of our concert band led to the parents of musical children in the area seeking out our school, and helped us get Specialist Arts status in 2000,
"I think it's also partly responsible for the school being so heavily oversubscribed these days."
At a time when so many social bonds are broken, music is something that can bring people together, even if it means from a distance, rather than playing personally. And when more normal times do return, music is something that Mr Johnson says can help strengthen bonds across the Trust's schools.
He said:
"Our schools are one big family, and music is one way in which we can bind them.
"Our parents choose our schools for the excellent education they provide, the high standards of behaviour and importantly the extra-curricular opportunities they offer. Music is one of our greatest strengths, and one we're proud of and intend to keep developing further."